RSNStats

Baseball News and Stats
Red Sox Nation Focused

Pirates sweep away Red Sox

Leave a Comment

A promising Red Sox homestand ended with a thud on Wednesday as the Pirates completed a three-game sweep at Fenway Park.

Where just a few days ago fans’ concerns seemed primarily on Boston’s starting pitching, Wednesday’s game featured a great start from Corey Kluber, but a power outage coupled with sloppy fielding.

brown wooden brush on black plastic container
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

It was the first time the Sox were swept in a three-game Interleague series at home since August 31-September 2, 2020 against the Braves. The Red Sox have now lost five straight home games to National League clubs (two versus Atlanta in August 2022 and these last three games against Pittsburgh).

In a tale of two very different offenses, Boston bats went eerily quiet against the Bucs. The Sox batted .331 with 32 runs scored from Opening Day through the first inning of Monday’s game, but cooled to .172 batting average with just three runs scored from the second inning Monday onward.

Wednesday’s series finale was especially dispiriting with the Sox limited to just one hit, a single by Christian Arroyo, until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh. That frame also featured a game-tying, pinch-hit home run for Reese McGuire that was overturned a minute later when the umpires realized the ball had gone foul down by the Pesky Pole.

Kluber Settles In

Red Sox newcomer Corey Kluber showed his veteran bonafides on Wednesday.

Rocked on Opening Day for five earned runs over just 3.1 IP, Kluber bounced back with a solid performance, limiting the Pirates to three hits and one run over five innings. Despite being in cruise control, Manager Alex Cora lifted Kluber after just 67 pitches, opening the door to three more Pirates runs allowed by John Schreiber (1 ER) and Kaleb Ort (2 ER).

After the game, Cora said he was following his game plan, happy with the five innings he got from Kluber. “We’re good right there. We feel like that was good enough, where we were, with the bullpen. Bring in Schreiber and just keep going鈥hey kept adding on but I think [Kluber’s work] was good enough for us.”

Since the start of the 2016 season, Kluber’s r茅sum茅 includes 19 times in which he’s allowed five or more earned runs in a start, as he did on Opening Day. In the starts immediately following those, however, he’s limited damage effectively. In 13 of those 19 follow up games Kluber held opponents to two or fewer ER and pitched at least five innings, and in nine of those he held opponents to no more than one run, as he did on Wednesday for the Sox.

They’re running on the Sox

With Zack Kelly on in relief the Pirates swiped two more bases on Wednesday. That makes a remarkable 14 stolen bases allowed by Sox pitching over the first six games of the season, the most allowed by the team over the first six games of any season in club history and tied for seventh-most of any team’s first six games in Major League history.

The Red Sox now head to Detroit for their first road trip of the season. They’ll face the Tigers, who just took two of three games from the Astros. After three games in the Motor City, the Red Sox go on to Tampa for four at the hands of the undefeated Rays.


Post-Papi Era Starts With A Win

Leave a Comment

The first game of the Post-Papi Era was a satisfying Red Sox win in a rare visit to Boston by the Pirates for the start the 2017 campaign. 

Amid the pomp and ceremony of a new Sox season there were Patriots and fireworks (thanks to an Andrew Benintendi blast over the right field wall), and even well wishes from David Ortiz himself, albeit through social media, not in person.

The Sox, held scoreless into the fifth inning, suddenly erupted for the entirety of their runs, all coming with two outs. After a triple by the club’s 2016 triples leader, Jackie Bradley Jr., a fleet-footed and highly motivated Pablo Sandoval beat out an infield single that put the Sox on the board. A surprising bunt against the shift by Sandy Le贸n put two men on in time for a 384-foot blast off the bat of Benintendi. 

After the game, Manager John Farrell said the decision to bunt was Le贸n’s. “We want our guys to play the game,” Farrell said. “That’s an attack on Sandy’s part that he’s worked on, and it worked here today.”

At 22 years, 271 days old, Monday’s home run made Benintendi the youngest Sox player to homer on Opening Day since Mookie Betts two seasons ago. “For a guy of his stature,” Farrell noted of the latest rookie phenom, “there’s such great timing and fluidity to the swing, he creates easy power.”

Porcello Solid

The 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner, Rick Porcello, did not disappoint in his first ever Opening Day start. Porcello allowing three earned runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. His 6.1 innings of work marked his 42nd consecutive start with at least 5.0+ IP, the longest such active streak in the league and, after 56 such starts by Luis Tiant, the second longest by a Red Sox pitcher since 1913.

Porcello had held the Pirates scoreless for 23.0 IP before allowing 3 ER in the seventh on Monday. With the win he improved to 3-0, 1.23 ERA in four career starts against the Bucs.

Porcello was followed by Matt Barnes, Robby Scott, Heath Hembree, and Craig Kimbrel, who collected his 20th straight save. For Barnes, the outing marked his 100th career appearance.

Hits Keep Coming

Even without the Large Father, the hits kept coming for the Red Sox.

Every Boston batter but Mitch Moreland connected for at least one hit Monday. Xander Bogaerts and Le贸n had two apiece. 

In all, the Sox amassed 10 hits starting, one would hope, a new string of double-digit hit games. In 2016, fully half of Boston’s games featured 10+ hits, the most of all the major league clubs. 

Dustin Pedroia, unquestionably now the leader of a large body of stats for active Red Sox, was 1-for-4 on Monday, his 11th straight Opening Day at second base for Boston. Pedroia’s is the 2nd-longest consecutive Opening Day start streak at any position in club history, trailing only Carl Yastrzemski鈥檚 12-start streak in left field (1961-72). The game also marked Pedey’s 1,399th major league game, tying him with Dom DiMaggio for 11th on the club’s All-Time Games Played List. He’ll need 147 more to meet Jason Varitek at #10 on that list.


Finally, it’s time to Play Ball!

Leave a Comment

Opening Day 2017We’ve waited patiently and now patience is rewarded. After an 18-14-3 spring, it’s time to start the 2017 Red Sox season! 

The Sox open the new season, their 117th, at home facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s only the second time ever the Pirates have played at Fenway following a three-game set a dozen years ago. 

For all-time, Boston is 57-58-1 on Opening Day, excluding Game 2 of doubleheaders played in 1903, 1948 and 1982. They’re 9-8 in Day One action since 2000.

After six straight years of Opening Days on the road, 2017 marks the 41st time the Sox will open a season at Fenway. In the last 100 seasons dating back to 1917, Boston is 19-15 in home starts and have won five of their last six, including the two most recent bouts in 2009 versus the Rays and in 2010 facing the Yankees.

Pirates’ 2nd-ever trip to Fenway

The Red Sox will play a National League opponent on Opening Day for the second time in three seasons. Boston walloped the Keystone State’s other franchise, the Phillies, 8-0 on Opening Day 2015 in a game that featured two home runs apiece for Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ram铆rez. For good measure, Ram铆rez’ second roundtripper was a 9th inning grand slam.

For all-time, the Sox are 5-7 in regular season action against the Bucs. The only team Boston has faced fewer times than the Pirates are the Reds (10 total games). The last regular season meeting between Boston and Pittsburgh came in September 2014 at PNC Park, a forgettable three-game Pirates sweep. In Pittsburgh’s only previous regular season visit to Boston in June 2005, they fell to the Sox 2-games-to-1.

Sox history buffs know that Boston beat Pittsburgh in the first ever modern World Series, a best-of-nine set that ended at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds on October 13, 1903. In that series the Boston Americans overcame a 1-game-to-3 deficit to win four straight and the series title 5-games-to-3.

Porcello’s Special Day

For the Sox  2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello will take the mound in his first career Opening Day start (he’s also seven away from the 1,000th strikeout of his career). The club’s record for most Day One pitching starts is held by Roger Clemens (8). Hall of Famer Tom Seaver owns the MLB record for most Opening Day starts (16).

For Dustin Pedroia it will be his 11th Opening Day start at second base with the Red Sox, three behind the franchise record held by Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr (13).

Andrew Benintendi, Heath Hembree, Eduardo Rodriguez, Robby Scott, Steve Selsky, Ben Taylor, and Christian Vazquez are all making their first career Opening Day starts on Monday with the Red Sox.

Craving even more Opening Day Red Sox stats? At the start of last season RSNStats recalled some Opening Day milestones, such as the Red Sox’ only Opening Day walk-off win (it was in 1941). Have a read through as you settle in and gear up for another exciting new Red Sox season!


Weekend Odds ‘n Ends

Leave a Comment

On this Fathers Day weekend, some news and notes for Red Sox fans on the week that just wrapped up:

  1. This past week, Orioles rookie pitcher Tyler Wilson held the Red Sox scoreless through 8.0 IP. Wilson is聽the fourth rookie starter to聽hold an opponent scoreless through eight or more innings this season (also Steven Matz, Zach Davies, and Jameson Taillon). Wilson’s was the first such performance against the Sox by any Orioles pitcher at Fenway Park since Mike Boddicker on June 30, 1985.
  2. With two more on Saturday, the Red Sox Xander Bogaerts has 99 hits over 67 games. That puts Bogaerts on pace for 239 hits this season. The Red Sox single season record for hits is 240 by Wade Boggs in 1985. Boggs is followed by Tris Speaker (222 in 1912), Boggs (214 in 1988), and Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, and Jim Rice, each of whom collected 213 hits in 2011, 2008, and 1978, respectively.

  3. The Braves Freddie Freeman hit for the cycle last Wednesday, becoming the first player to do so this season. It was the 33rd cycle hit in an extra-innings game since at least 1913, with the聽single to complete the feat coming in the 11th inning. Coincidentally, the first Red Sox player to hit for the cycle was also a Freeman鈥攖hough his first name was John,聽and he went by “Buck” (shown right). An original member of the first Red Sox club in 1901, Buck Freeman‘s聽cycle聽took place聽June 21, 1903 at聽the Cleveland Indians in聽Mahaffey Park. Later that same year, Freeman would effectively be聽Boston’s MVP聽in聽the first World Series, going 9-for-32 (.281) with three triples and four RBI聽over the eight-game series. The Sox most recent cycle came off the bat of Brock Holt last June 16 at Fenway Park.

  4. On Friday, in their 67th game of the season, the Pirates were shutout for the first time. The Bucs were the last club in the majors to be blanked this season. With Pittsburgh, the Red Sox are one of just five MLB clubs to be shut out no more than twice this season (also the Athletics, Rockies, and White Sox).
  5. The Red Sox have managed double-digit hits in 40 of their first 66 games this season. Since 1913, only the 1939 and 2003 Sox clubs have had more games of 10+ hits. Each of those seasons Boston had 41 such games.
  6. 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki has had at least two hits in each of his last five starts, making him the oldest player with that long a streak since Carl聽Yastrzemski in the summer of 1983 when Yaz聽was 43 years old.
  7. With his 521st career聽home run this week,聽David Ortiz tied “Mister Ted Williams,” as Big Papi calls him. With four more doubles, he’ll match Williams’ Fenway record of 319. In聽Fenway history, only聽Yastrzemski had more (382). Ortiz is four from his聽1,157th聽extra-base hit, which will tie him with Yaz at No. 12 on baseball’s All-Time聽XBH聽List.
  8. Carl Crawford was designated for assignment by the Dodgers this past week, effectively ending his playing time with the team, though not his paychecks. Crawford is still owed over $12 million for the rest of this season and will be paid $21 million in 2017. In all, baseball has been very, very good to Crawford with estimated lifetime earnings of more than $170 million. This week Evan Longoria surpassed Crawford to become the聽longest tenured player聽in Rays history at eight years, 73 days.
  9. As of end of play on Saturday, Dustin Pedroia has grounded into 12 doubles plays. No player in baseball has done it more often this season.

MLB Commissioner suspends former Red Sox

Leave a Comment

Free agent Minor League catcher Dusty Brown received a 50-game suspension today from the MLB Commissioner’s Office following a second positive test for a banned drug.

Brown, 32, was drafted by the Red Sox on June 5, 2000聽in the 35th round of the 2000 amateur draft. From 2009 to 2010 Brown appeared in 13聽Red Sox games at聽catcher.聽He also pitched 1.0 innings, allowing 2 hits and a run in one game of 2009.

After his stint with Boston, Brown played in 11 games with the Pirates in 2011 before playing exclusively in the Minor聽Leagues in the systems of the Rangers, Indians, and Athletics.

The suspension of Brown, who is currently unsigned,聽goes into effect聽immediately upon his signing with any another Major League organization.